2013 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Prestige, Roger Sabon, Rhône

2013 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Prestige, Roger Sabon, Rhône

Product: 20138024253
 
2013 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Prestige, Roger Sabon, Rhône

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Description

The reason for the prestigious nature of this cuvée can be attributed, in part, to an old parcel of Syrah, relatively unusual at this age in these parts, which makes up 25 percent of the cuvée (the balance is 65 percent Grenache and 10 percent Mourvèdre) and which lends floral elegance to the aromatic and notes of ripe raspberry, loganberry and sloe to the deliciously ripe palate.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer

Didier Negron makes a style of Châteauneuf-du-Pape which is both glossy and immediately appealing, while at the same time maintaining the herbal complexity and garrigue charm for which the appellation is justly celebrated. How he achieves this is, as his top wine confirms, something of a secret. He describes 2013 as ‘heterogeneous’; he predicts that the wines will be appreciated for their relative delicacy and their elegant structure. There is nothing particularly profound in such observationsthe real profundity resides in the wines themselves which are uniformly excellent. One of the vintage’s superstars is the 2013 Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvee Prestige, which consists of roughly 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre and other permitted varieties. Aged mostly in foudre, yet with 30% in a combination of 25-hectoliter tanks and demi-muid, it has full-bodied richness in its black raspberry, black cherry, garrigue, toasted spice and licorice-driven aromas and flavors. Like the other 2013s from this estate, it has beautiful ripeness (even though harvest here was on the earlier side), sweet tannin and fantastic length.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate Issue#215 Oct 2014

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate93/100
The 2013 Chteauneuf du Pape Cuvee Prestige offers a bigger, sweeter, and richer core of fruit to go with medium to full-bodied depth and concentration on the palate. Peppery, Provenal and garrigue-laced, this beautiful 2013 has terrific tannin quality and a great finish. It can be enjoyed anytime over the coming decade.
Jeb Dunnuck - 30/10/2015 Read more

About this WINE

Domaine Roger Sabon

Domaine Roger Sabon

Roger Sabon is described by Robert Parker as "one of the more intellectual vignerons in Châteauneuf du-Pape".

His vineyard holdings are surprisingly small, around 14 hectares, which are divided between his properties in Lirac, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Cotes du Rhône. The Châteauneuf vineyards are well situated in Les Cabrieres, La Crau, Courtherzon and Nalys and the average age of his vines is unusually high with some of them dating back to the early 1900s.

The general cepage is made up of 70% Grenache although this is reduced in his top two cuvées, the Cuvee Reservee and he Cuvée Prestige. Roger Sabon is a traditionalist and prefers to age his wines in small oak piece, none of which are new, for six months following a sojourn en cuve. He places great emphasis upon elegance rather than power in his wines and in youth his wine can be deceiving.

With time, however, they grow and gain in depth and complexity and are some of the finest Châteauneufs being produced today.

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The most celebrated village of the Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the birthplace of the now indispensable French Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée system – imperfect though it may be. Compared to the Northern Rhône, the vineyards here are relatively flat and often feature the iconic galet pebbles – the precise benefits of which are a source of much debate. Minimum alcohol levels required by the AOC are the highest in France, but at 12.5% it is well below the natural generosity of Grenache, which only achieves its full aromatic potential when it is fully ripe and laden with the resultant high sugars. Syrah and Mourvèdre contribute the other defining elements in the blend, adding pepper, savoury spice and structure to the decadent Grenache. There are a further 10 permitted red grape varieties which can be used to adjust the “seasoning”. Of the five white varieties permitted, it is Grenache Noir’s sibling – predictably perhaps – Grenache Blanc, which dominates, though Roussanne shows a great deal of promise when handled well, notably at Château de Beaucastel.

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Southern Rhône Blend

Southern Rhône Blend

The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.

The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.

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